Adafruit QT Py ESP32-S2 (including uFL version) by Adafruit
What has your favorite Espressif WiFi microcontroller, comes with our favorite connector - the STEMMA QT, a chainable I2C port, and has lots of Flash and RAM memory for your next IoT project? What will make your next IoT project flyyyyy? What a cutie pie! Or is it… a QT Py? This diminutive dev board comes with one of our new favorite lil chips, the ESP32-S2!
The ESP32-S2 is a highly-integrated, low-power, 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi System-on-Chip (SoC) solution that now has built-in native USB as well as some other interesting new technologies like Time of Flight distance measurements. With its state-of-the-art power and RF performance, this SoC is an ideal choice for a wide variety of application scenarios relating to the Internet of Things (IoT), wearable electronics, and smart homes.
Please note the QT Py ESP32-S2 has a single-core 240 MHz chip, so it won’t be as fast as ESP32’s with dual-core. Also, there is no Bluetooth support. However, we are super excited about the ESP32-S2’s native USB which unlocks a lot of capabilities for advanced interfacing! This ESP32-S2 mini-module we are using on the QT Py comes with 4 MB flash and 2 MB PSRAM so you can buffer massive JSON files for parsing!
OLEDs! Inertial Measurement Units! Sensors a-plenty. All plug-and-play thanks to the innovative chainable design: SparkFun Qwiic-compatible STEMMA QT connectors for the I2C bus so you don’t even need to solder! Just plug in a compatible cable and attach it to your MCU of choice, and you’re ready to load up some software and measure some light. Seeed Grove I2C boards will also work with this adapter cable.
Pinout and shape are Seeed Xiao compatible, with castellated pads so you can solder it flat to a PCB. In addition to the QT connector, we also added an RGB NeoPixel (with controllable power pin to allow for ultra-low-power usage), a reset button (great for restarting your program or entering the bootloader) and a button on GPIO 0 for entering the ROM bootloader or for user input.
Runs Arduino like a dream, and CircuitPython projects are fantastically fun.
Technical details
- Same size, form-factor, and pin-out as Seeed Xiao
- USB-C connector - If you have only Micro B cables, this adapter will come in handy!
- ESP32-S2 240MHz Tensilica processor - the next generation of ESP32, now with native USB so it can act like a keyboard/mouse, MIDI device, disk drive, etc!
- 4 MB Flash & 2 MB PSRAM
- Native USB supported by every OS - can be used in Arduino or CircuitPython as USB serial console, MIDI, Keyboard/Mouse HID, even a little disk drive for storing Python scripts.
- Can be used with Arduino IDE or CircuitPython
- Built-in RGB NeoPixel LED with power control to reduce quiescent power in deep sleep
- Battery input pads on underside with diode protection for external battery packs up to 6V input
- 13 GPIO pins:
- 11 on breakout pads, 2 more on QT connector
- 10 12-bit analog inputs (SPI high speed pads do not have analog inputs)
- 8-bit analog output DAC
- PWM outputs on any pin
- 2 I2C ports, one on the breakout pads, and another with STEMMA QT plug-n-play connector
- Hardware UART
- Hardware SPI on the high speed SPI peripheral pins
- Hardware I2S on any pins
- 5 Capacitive Touch with no additional components required
- 3.3 V regulator with 600 mA peak output
- Deep sleep at 100 uA
- Reset switch for starting your project code over, boot 0 button for entering bootloader mode
- Really really small
Purchase
Contribute
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CircuitPython 9.2.8
This is the latest stable release of CircuitPython that will work with the Adafruit QT Py ESP32-S2 (including uFL version). Use this release if you are new to CircuitPython.
Modules included in this download
_asyncio _pixelmap adafruit_bus_device adafruit_pixelbuf aesio alarm analogbufio analogio array atexit audiobusio audiocore audioio audiomixer audiomp3 binascii bitbangio bitmaptools board builtins builtins.pow3 busdisplay busio busio.SPI busio.UART canio codeop collections countio digitalio displayio epaperdisplay errno espcamera espidf espnow espulp fontio fourwire framebufferio frequencyio getpass gifio hashlib i2cdisplaybus io ipaddress jpegio json keypad keypad.KeyMatrix keypad.Keys keypad.ShiftRegisterKeys keypad_demux keypad_demux.DemuxKeyMatrix locale math max3421e mdns memorymap microcontroller msgpack neopixel_write nvm onewireio os os.getenv ps2io pulseio pwmio qrio rainbowio random re rgbmatrix rotaryio rtc sdcardio select sharpdisplay socketpool socketpool.socketpool.AF_INET6 ssl storage struct supervisor synthio sys terminalio tilepalettemapper time touchio traceback ulab usb usb_cdc usb_hid usb_midi vectorio warnings watchdog wifi zlibFeatures: STEMMA QT/QWIIC, USB-C, Breadboard-Friendly, Wi-Fi, Xiao / QTPy Form Factor, Castellated Pads
CircuitPython 10.0.0-beta.2
This is the latest development release of CircuitPython that will work with the Adafruit QT Py ESP32-S2 (including uFL version).
WARNING: On Espressif ESP32-S2 and ESP32-S3 boards with 4MB flash, CircuitPython 10.0.0-beta.0 and later require TinyUF2 bootloader version 0.33.0 or later. Older TinyUF2 bootloaders don't provide enough room for the firmware and cannot load it. See the Release Notes for more details, and see Update UF2 Bootloader below.
Alpha development releases are early releases. They are unfinished, are likely to have bugs, and the features they provide may change. Beta releases may have some bugs and unfinished features, but should be suitable for many uses. A Release Candidate (rc) release is considered done and will become the next stable release, assuming no further issues are found.
Please try alpha, beta, and rc releases if you are able. Your testing is invaluable: it helps us uncover and find issues quickly.
Release Notes for 10.0.0-beta.2
Modules included in this download
_asyncio _eve _pixelmap adafruit_bus_device adafruit_pixelbuf aesio alarm analogbufio analogio array atexit audiobusio audiocore audiomixer audiomp3 binascii bitbangio bitmapfilter bitmaptools board builtins builtins.pow3 busdisplay busio busio.SPI busio.UART canio codeop collections countio digitalio displayio epaperdisplay errno espcamera espidf espnow espulp fontio fourwire framebufferio frequencyio getpass gifio hashlib i2cdisplaybus io ipaddress jpegio json keypad keypad.KeyMatrix keypad.Keys keypad.ShiftRegisterKeys keypad_demux keypad_demux.DemuxKeyMatrix locale lvfontio math max3421e mdns memorymap microcontroller msgpack neopixel_write nvm onewireio os os.getenv ps2io pulseio pwmio qrio rainbowio random re rgbmatrix rotaryio rtc sdcardio select sharpdisplay socketpool socketpool.socketpool.AF_INET6 ssl storage struct supervisor synthio sys terminalio tilepalettemapper time touchio traceback ulab usb usb_cdc usb_hid usb_midi vectorio warnings watchdog wifi zlibFeatures: STEMMA QT/QWIIC, USB-C, Breadboard-Friendly, Wi-Fi, Xiao / QTPy Form Factor, Castellated Pads
Absolute Newest
Every time we commit new code to CircuitPython we automatically build binaries for each board and language. The binaries are stored on Amazon S3, organized by board, and then by language. These releases are even newer than the development release listed above. Try them if you want the absolute latest and are feeling daring or want to see if a problem has been fixed.
Previous Versions of CircuitPython
All previous releases of CircuitPython are available for download from Amazon S3 through the button below. For very old releases, look in the OLD/ folder for each board. Release notes for each release are available at GitHub button below.
Older releases are useful for testing if you something appears to be broken in a newer release but used to work, or if you have older code that depends on features only available in an older release. Otherwise we recommend using the latest stable release.
Install, Repair, or Update UF2 Bootloader
Latest version: 0.35.0
The UF2 bootloader allows you to load CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino programs. The bootloader itself is not CircuitPython. On Espressif boards, the UF2 bootloader is called TinyUF2. If the TinyUF2 bootloader is installed, you can check its version by looking in the INFO_UF2.TXT file when the BOOT drive is visible (FTHRS2BOOT, MAGTAGBOOT, HOUSEBOOT, etc.)
In general, it is not necessary to update TinyUF2 at every version change. You can read the release notes on GitHub to see what has been changed. Update if you've been told about a necessary change or a bug fix.
Note: CircuitPython 10 and later, on Espressif boards with 4MB flash, requires TinyUF2 0.33.0 or later. The flash partition layout has changed (details).
If TinyUF2 has never been installed on the board, or it was removed by erasing or overwriting the flash, it must be installed in order to flash .uf2 files onto the board. But you don't need the TinyUF2 bootloader to upload .bin files. They can be uploaded using the built-in ROM bootloader, with the Adafruit WebSerial ESPTool or esptool.py.
Warning: Installing the TinyUF2 bootloader will erase everything that was previously on the board. Save any files in CIRCUITPY for which you don't have backups.
There are several ways to install the TinyUF2 bootloader on your board. Check to see if your board's manufacturer provides specific instructions. For Adafruit boards, consult the Factory Reset page in the Learn Guide for your particular board (example).
The easiest way to install TinyUF2 is to use the OPEN INSTALLER button (see above, in the CiruitPython sections). You can also use the Adafruit WebSerial ESPTool, or esptool.py, as described in the Factory Reset page.
- Plug board into a USB port on your computer using a data/sync cable. Make sure it is the only board plugged in, and that a charge-only cable is not being used.
- Press and hold the BOOT button (sometimes marked "B0").
- Press and release the RESET button (sometimes marked "RST").
- Release the BOOT button. This starts the ROM bootloader.
After installing TinyUF2, enter the UF2 bootloader by double-clicking the RESET button. On boards with an RGB status LED, you usually tap reset once, wait for the LED to turn purple, and tap again before the purple goes away. On other boards, consult the board documentation.
If you are updating TinyUF2, look at INFO_UF2.TXT to verify the new version of TinyUF2, by checking the version number. Then you will need to copy the CircuitPython.uf2 file to the BOOT drive.